Heir to an illegal gambling business owned by his murdered father, Valerio spends his days working for his uncle Linduarte, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy while dreaming of getting out and going straight with his wife Regina. But when the opportunity presents itself, Valerio and Regina’s desperate stab at a new life leaves them embroiled in a downward spiral of treachery and corruption. Blinded by greed and beset by paranoia, the couple is swept into the violent undertow of Rio de Janeiro’s criminal underworld, leaving behind a bloody wake of bodies and betrayal.
One of Brazil’s most-anticipated films of the year, Fernando Coimbra’s successor to 2013’s A Wolf at the Door is a blood-soaked crime thriller that marries the darker shades of the Coen Brothers’ irony to the melodramatic flourishes of Shakespeare, finding inspiration in the murderous scheming of Macbeth, the obsession and revenge of Hamlet, and the violent excess of Titus Andronicus. Carnival is Over is a withering social critique wrapped in a bleakly comic tragedy where no one is left unscathed.
Leandra Leal, Irandhir Santos, Thiago Thomé, Pêpê Rapazote, Ernani Moraes, Augusto Madeira
Brazil/Portugal
2024
In Portuguese with English subtitles
At Vancouver Playhouse
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Rui Pires, Daniela Antonelli Aun, Gabriela Tocchio, Ana Saito, Pablo Torrecillas, João Fonseca, Fernando Fraiha, Rodrigo Castellar, José Alvarenga Júnior, Leandra Leal, Marcio Fraccaroli, Veronica Stumpf
Producer
Caio Gullane, Fabiano Gullane, André Novis, Fernando Coimbra, Luís Galvão Teles, Gonçalo Galvão Teles
Screenwriter
Fernando Coimbra
Cinematography
Júnior Malta
Editor
Karen Harley
Production Design
Caio Costa, Rafael Torah
Original Music
Thiago França
Fernando Coimbra
Fernando Coimbra is a screenwriter and director who was born in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. He graduated in Film and Video from the University of São Paulo in 1999. His debut feature, A Wolf at the Door (2013), won Best Film at San Sebastián in the Latinos Horizontes section. Coimbra also directed episodes of Narcos and Netflix’s Sand Castle (2017). His latest film, Carnival is Over, was developed at the 2015 Sundance Screenwriter Lab and received the institute’s Global Filmmaking Award.
Filmography: A Wolf at the Door (2013); Sand Castle (2017)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Two Pianos
Once promising concert pianist Mathias (François Civil) returns to his native Lyon after a long absence. He's here to pay homage to his mentor, Elena (Charlotte Rampling). But a chance encounter with an old flame sends him spiraling.
Best Boy
Sibling rivalry is the name of the game in Jesse Noah Klein's pitch black comedy. Eli, Lawrence and Phillip (who's a woman) reunite after the passing of their father and, in accordance with his last wishes, compete for the prized title of "Best Boy".
The Golden Spurtle
Each year the sleepy highland village of Carrbridge awakens with excitement as locals and competitors from around the globe vie for the honour of winning The Golden Spurtle in the World Porridge Making Championships.
At the Place of Ghosts
In this supernatural Indigenous thriller from the director of Wildhood, siblings Mise'l and Antle journey into Sk+te'kmujue'katik (the Place of Ghosts), a primordial forest that exists outside of time, to confront their violent upbringing.
Lucid
Art student Mia is struggling with a make-or-break assignment, a self-portrait. It's only when grandma lets slip that her mom used to hypnotize her as a child to blank out the bad bits that she realizes the severity of the challenge...
